UPDATE 1-Salmonella linked to ground beef sickens 16 -CDC

(Adds details on extent of outbreak)

By Eric M. Johnson

Jan 28 Sixteen people across five states have
fallen ill from Salmonella poisoning, several from a raw
ground-beef dish served at a single restaurant, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

Local, state and federal health and regulatory officials
said the likely cause of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak was
Jouni Meats Inc and Gab Halal Foods, both of Michigan.

Most the people sickened were in the Midwest - two in
Illinois, one in Iowa, three in Wisconsin and nine in Michigan,
where the meat shops are located, the CDC said. One sick person
was identified in Arizona.

Seven people reported eating a raw ground-beef dish at a
restaurant, the CDC said, adding that roughly half of the people
were hospitalized, although none died.

"The restaurant served raw beef to customers and had
acquired the raw beef from two retailers," the CDC said in a
statement, without naming the restaurant.

Jouni Meats sold the meat, used to make a raw Middle Eastern
ground beef dish called kibbeh, without a label between Dec. 4
and 9 to customers, including a Detroit-area restaurant,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Gab Halal Foods also sold bags of ground beef in clear
plastic at around the same time to customers and the same
restaurant, located in Macomb County, local and federal
officials said.

Khalil Jouni, owner of Jouni Meats, on Monday said he
believed the ground beef had been safe when he distributed it
and may have become tainted somewhere down the line.

"I produce meat to other restaurants, and my customers, and
none of them got sick," Jouni said. "I make sure everything is
very clean."

Gab Halal Foods, which Jouni said is owned by his brother,
could not be reached for a comment.

The illness from the food-borne organism usually causes
diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. It can be fatal for the
elderly, young children and those with weakened immune systems.

The CDC warned people not to eat raw or undercooked beef and
to return or throw out recalled products.

"This is especially important for children under the age of
5 years, older adults and people with weakened immune systems
because these people are at a higher risk for serious illness,"
the CDC said.
(Reporting By Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston,
Maureen Bavdek and Bob Burgdorfer)

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